Chương 56: Sick Curse

The goblin burrow was a hole in the ground, hidden beneath tall flower stems. It looked and smelled exactly the same as Alexandra remembered.

"This seems beneath us," she said.

"Goblins are perfect." Sera crouched and studied the entrance.

"Weak enough that you won't die." She glanced back.

"Verdant beasts are too susceptible to spells that target lifeforce. You won't learn anything about your skill with them." Alexandra had seen what Dark Bolt did to verdant beasts. She pointed her hand at one, and it completely collapsed. Sure, stronger beasts took more out of her, but they died all the same. A goblin would survive longer, if anything.

"How many are in there?" Alexandra asked.

"Four. Maybe five." Sera stood.

"We're not clearing the plains. We just need enough targets to work with." She turned to face her.

"Before we start, did you try casting it after being hit with that sickness of empathy?" Alexandra winced.

"I did." Sera raised an eyebrow.

"Go on."

"It was… on a Silver rank human. Didn't do much to him. A bit of nausea." Silence.

"Well, we're about to find out how much it hurts when on a weaker target. You're not going to be able to make it stop. Not until the curse is lifted. But you can learn to cast through it."

"Wonderful."

"It's that or you're never killing that Yshant." Alexandra looked at the burrow.

"I know. How do we lure one out?" Sera shrugged.

"They can smell your mana. Iron rank. They won't come out until you put it under control."

"And how do I do that?"

"Pull it back," Sera said.

"Into your core." Alexandra stared at her.

"My core."

"Where your mana lives. Everyone has one." Sera crossed her arms.

"You haven't found yours yet?"

"I think I would know if I had something inside me."

"You wouldn't. Just like I'm sure you don't know all your organs." She blinked.

"Right. So, it's an organ? A new one that was put there when I was transported to Laika?" Alexandra looked down at her body.

"Weird."

"No," Sera said.

"Well, I don't actually know if you had a mana core before coming here. However, you shouldn't think of it as an organ. It's not a physical thing. It's the origin of all the mana you use. Try locating it." Alexandra closed her eyes. She felt the grass under her shoes. Wind off the plains. The smell of flowers.

"I don't know what I'm looking for."

"Don't look, feel. Your mana is already moving. That's what the goblins can smell. It radiates off you, like heat from a fire. You need to find the source of it and pull it back." Alexandra tried to think about her mana. The way it gathered when she cast Inflict Weakness, the absence she felt when she was subjected to the sickness, the way it came back after the potion. There. Not in her body. Deeper. Somewhere below her sternum, yet not truly. A weight. A stream.

"I think I feel it."

"Do you sense the mana flowing out of it?"

"Yes. How do I pull it back in?"

"Imagine it," Sera said.

"Not a gesture, not a movement. Just the intent. Picture the flow reversing, the mana coming back to the source."

"That's it?"

"Make it work before claiming it's easy." Alexandra kept her eyes shut. The stream she'd found was but a trickle, but it was steady. She tried to rein it back. Nothing happened.

"It's not working."

"You're trying to force it. There's a reason mana naturally flows out of your core. You don't stop a river. You give it a new direction." Alexandra tried again. She held the image of the stream and imagined its mouth turning inward. Bending. Looping onto itself. This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Something shifted. Small. A thread. But she felt it.

"Hold that image. Widen it. Don't think about the whole thing at once. Just a little more." Another thread. Then another. The outward flow diverted in a loop. Then she thought about what she was doing and lost it completely. The mana flowed back outward. Her eyes snapped open.

"How—" Sera raised her hand.

"It always happens. It takes training to do it right. Especially when you start with so much mana. It's better to get started with training as soon as you receive your class. You must have what? Twenty to thirty points in intelligence?" She clicked her tongue.

"Makes it much harder." Alexandra closed her eyes again. Found the core, then the stream. She held the image, the current bending, returning. This time she kept her focus locked on each thread of mana, never pulling her mind back to observe the full process. She pulled. Diverted. Widened. More threads, at a steady pace. Until the last one fell in place.

"There," Sera said.

"Hold it." The image held. The mana stayed within. The moment she'd relaxed her attention, it would drift away again.

"This requires constant attention," Sera said.

"But you'll get used to it. For now, keep it up until a goblin comes out."

"How long?"

"Goblins are not that smart. They'll forget you were there in a minute." Alexandra waited, eyes closed. The strain on her mind was growing. Each second spent in that state forced her to dip into mental resources she didn't know she had. Focus. One loop in her core to hold her mana.

"There it is," Sera said.

"Open your eyes slowly. Try to keep it up." Very carefully, Alexandra opened one eye, then the other. She held on for two seconds before her concentration broke. In front of her, a goblin stood still, its eyes fixated on her. Sera was standing to her left.

"I've stopped it from moving. I want to see your skill in action before moving on to more complex challenges. Especially how it interacts with the sickness of empathy."

"This feels…"

"Like helping this world's magical theory take a step forward, I know. But don't get ahead of yourself. You're nowhere near that level." Alexandra stared.

"I wasn't referring to that." But I already committed worse crimes. She raised her finger, and sent out the weakest Dark Bolt she could muster. The black needle flew directly into the goblin's chest. She felt a sting. Then nothing. She looked at Sera.

"I don't— Ugh." She bent over her knees, nearly falling to the ground.

"Nevermind." The goblin hadn't moved, held still by the Keeper's spell. It started in her chest. Pressure. Something wedged between her ribs and expanding. Her sternum felt like it was bending inward. She pressed her fists against it, trying to put it back in place. It did nothing, of course, because it wasn't there. It was just the pain. The goblin chirped. The pain spiked. She knew better. It was the worst part. On a cold, intellectual level, she knew that none of that mattered. She wasn't hurting.

But she suffered. It spread, tracking inward inside her veins and outside along her skin. It was in her blood, traveling with it. She felt it reach her heart, pumping it back out into her system. She couldn't ignore her pulse. Off-rhythm, hard contractions. Her knees hit the grass. She vomited her morning soup. Her ears rang from the goblin's cries. A thin, high, sound that wasn't going away.

"Not ideal," Sera said.

"Try working with the pain. You know it's not real."

"Not. Real. My. Ass." Alexandra breathed in and out, struggling to let the words out.

"Cursing is fine. If that helps."

"You're. Impossible."

"Pay attention to the pain. That's valuable information on how your skill is working." Alexandra shut Sera out. But she did listen to her advice. The pain was erratic, beating on and off in a stutter. But it was going through her bloodflow. Well, the goblin's bloodflow. She was only feeling the aftermath of Dark Bolt, not the consequences. The stuttering slowed. The spikes dulled. The heat receded. Her heart found its beat again, and settled into it. The goblin slumped against the spell holding it upright.

The ringing faded. Alexandra stayed on her knee in the grass a moment longer. Her mouth tasted like bile. She spat, wiped her chin with the back of her hand, and looked at the goblin. It slumped unconscious, chest still rising and falling. She stood up.

"You're still alive," Sera said.

"Fucking hell. I noticed." The pain was gone.

"How do you feel?"

"Like shit. This is horrible." She summoned her journal and groaned.

"Fuck me. Not even a level. And what bastard came up with a curse like this?" You are suffering from the curse of cursing.

"What curse?" Sera asked.

"Shut up. You know damn well what it is. Curse of cursing." Sera's lips spread into a smile.

"Could be worse." She chuckled.

"Don't."

"You're cursed for cursing."

"Piss off. I will not come with you to Kator if you keep fucking going." The chuckle turned into a laugh.

"Oh my. You better run back to the city and hop on that boat then. That's probably the last one out of Esmera until the real Wardens arrive."

"I'm not going to give up on Louis and I'm sure as hell not leaving before completing my quest." Sera shrugged.

"Suit yourself. Ready for round two?"

"Do I look ready?" Alexandra stared at her.

"You look great, dear." She paused.

"If it was any other curse, I'd suggest a break. I was thinking of teaching you a spell. But I don't want to hear you cuss at me any longer."

"Wait? I can cast spells? Without a skill?"

"Of course. What's a spell if not mana manipulation? Reining in your mana was basically a spell. A very crude one, but a spell nonetheless. A few good spells are your best bet for getting your friend out of his predicament. After all, you'd be learning from me." Alexandra didn't answer.

"Don't look at me like that. Why do you think our boss calls himself the Iron Vein Magus? The Keepers are the best mages in Laika.."

"Teach me." Sera shook her head.

"Back to the grind until you can behave. Come on, hide your mana and lure the next goblin. We have to make you function with that sickness as soon as possible." Alexandra gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. I'll fucking show you how I hide my damned mana.